News Broadcasting
Grand party to herald ‘Astitva’s 200th episode on Zee
MUMBAI: Ajai Sinha, director of the unconventional yet true-to-life weekly Astitva-Ek Prem Kahani (on Zee TV), is exalted.
His show will complete its 200th episode tomorrow, and Sinha plans to mark the day with a grand party, “to honour the entire group for having put up a good show”.
Astitva director Ajai Sinha
In the forthcoming episodes, Sinha claims to have a surprise element. He says, “I plan to introduce a new character, but won’t reveal anything about it right now. All I will say is that the character will be an important addition.”
Here on, Astitva will delve deeper into the relationships of Dr Simran (Niki Aneja-Walia) and her husband Abhi (Varun Badola), Simran and her colleague Dr Manav, Sinha says.
While viewers can anticipate a lot of twists and turns ahead in Astitva, the inspiration, put simply by Sinha, is “my bread”.
Niki Aneja and Varun Badola in a still from Astitva
As an afterthought, he continues, “Besides, I just wanted to explore a rare aspect of life. There were a number of saas-bahu sagas doing the rounds and I wanted to direct something more real.”
Sinha is all praises for Zee TV. He says he never faced any problem with the channel. “Zee saw that I had a new idea for Astitva and so gave me a free hand. Channels interfere only when a story is routine. When they see something new, they are as enthusiastic as us,” he explains.
News Broadcasting
Network18 Q4 revenue grows 9.7 per cent, EBITDA at Rs 30 crore
PAT improves to Rs 306.6 crore, margins steady amid cost pressures.
MUMBAI: Not all news is breaking, some of it is quietly improving. Network18 Media & Investments Limited appears to be doing just that, tightening losses and stabilising margins even as costs continue to weigh on the business. For FY26, the company reported revenue from operations of Rs 1,955.1 crore, up from Rs 1,896.2 crore in FY25, signalling modest top-line growth in a challenging media environment. Total income stood at Rs 1,978.2 crore, compared to Rs 1,913 crore a year earlier.
Profit after tax came in at Rs 306.6 crore for the year, a sharp turnaround from Rs 3,225.4 crore in FY25, largely reflecting the absence of large exceptional items that had inflated the previous year’s numbers. On a more comparable basis, the company’s operating performance showed signs of gradual stabilisation.
However, the quarterly picture remained under pressure. For the March quarter, Network18 reported a loss of Rs 53.1 crore, narrower than the Rs 98.1 crore loss in the same period last year, but still indicative of ongoing cost challenges.
Expenses continued to track high. Total expenses for FY26 stood at Rs 2,235.7 crore, up from Rs 2,197.8 crore in FY25. Key cost heads included operational expenses of Rs 765.9 crore, employee benefits of Rs 475.9 crore, and marketing, distribution and promotional spends of Rs 427.1 crore, underlining the continued investment required to sustain reach and engagement.
At an operating level, margins remained under strain. Operating margin stood at 2.33 per cent for FY26, marginally higher than 1.77 per cent in FY25, while net profit margin remained negative at -13.02 per cent, though improved from -14.89 per cent.
On the balance sheet, total assets rose to Rs 8,957.6 crore as of 31 March 2026, from Rs 8,317.5 crore a year earlier. Equity strengthened to Rs 4,958.7 crore, while borrowings increased to Rs 3,112.8 crore, reflecting a higher reliance on debt to support operations.
Cash flows told a mixed story. While financing activities generated Rs 83.9 crore, operating cash flow remained negative at Rs -24 crore, highlighting ongoing pressure on core cash generation. Cash and cash equivalents, however, improved to Rs 33.9 crore from Rs 1.8 crore.
The numbers point to a company in transition growing revenues, trimming losses, but still grappling with structural cost pressures. In a sector where scale often comes at a price, Network18 seems to be inching towards balance, one quarter at a time.
